Cushman & Wakefield adds partner to retail team
Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Chris Watt as a partner within its UK retail capital markets team.
An in-town retail and leisure investment specialist, Watt joins from Lunson Mitchenall where he was a director and spent eight years focusing on the acquisition and disposal of shopping centres and high street and leisure assets. He has also previously worked at WSB Property Consultants in Leeds.
His clients include Abrdn, Delancey ,and Northdale Asset Management as well as a mix of institutional investors, private equity firms, local authorities, and private investors.
In his new position, Watt will focus on the in-town shopping centre and retail and leisure market, working with the head of UK retail capital markets Marcus Wood, and Joshua Vernon, partner in retail capital markets.
He becomes the third partner in as many months to join Cushman & Wakefield’s UK retail and leisure team following the arrival of fellow capital markets hire Jack Lloyd in January, and retail park leasing specialist Mark Phelps in December. Both joined from Avison Young.
Dominic Bouvet, head of UK retail and leisure at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “We’re thrilled that Chris has chosen to take the next step in his career with us. He is an excellent cultural fit for our team and clients, which is extremely important, while his deeply analytical approach to investment transactions provides the level of insight that clients expect from Cushman & Wakefield.
“With Chris and Jack we have invested in senior capital markets talent to strengthen our in-town and out-of-town capabilities, with both parts of the market seeing improved liquidity, debt availability and activity. Mark’s arrival was also in line with our focus on growth and he is already adding value to our clients on the leasing side.”